Motorized roller shades include a flexible shade fabric that is windingly received onto a rotatably supported roller tube. The motorized roller shade also includes a motor drive unit drivingly engaging the roller tube to rotate the tube. It is known to arrange a plurality of motorized shades to provide for communication between the shades as part of a shade network. The communication between the motorized shades provided by a network arrangement facilitates centralized control of a plurality of roller shades included in the network from a convenient centralized location.
A known shade control system includes motorized shades having electronic drive units (EDUs) and wall-mountable controllers connected to the shade network for control of the network from a convenient location. The shade control system includes microprocessors at each of the motorized shades and wall-mountable controllers connected to the network for transmitting control signals and for storage of a database including network-related information.
The known shade control system is programmable such that preset shade positions for the motorized shades may be stored in the system for subsequent selection by a user by actuation of a preset actuator provided by the wall-mountable controller. The shade control system is also programmed to address each device connected to the network with a unique identifier to provide for network communication between the devices and to provide for centralized control of the motorized shades. The shade control system is also programmed to assign the EDU of each of the motorized shades of the system to one of the wall-mountable controllers for control of the EDU from the wall-mountable controller.
It is known to provide a lighting system including multiple dimmable lighting loads controlled from a central location. An example of such a lighting control system is HomeWorks® by Lutron Electronics Co., Inc. of Coopersburg, Pa. The lighting control system includes a central processor connected to dimmable loads and wall-mountable controllers for controlling the dimmable loads. The central processor transmits command signals directing that the dimmable loads be set to particular intensity levels that may range from between 0 and 100 percent.
It would be desirable to provide for integrated control of both the motorized shades of a shade network and the dimmable loads of a lighting system by a single control system. Differences between the construction and operation of known lighting and shade control systems, however, has rendered connection of a shade system to a known lighting system impractical. The central processor of the above-discussed lighting system, for example, controls the dimmable loads by transmitting commands directing that the dimmable loads be set to “intensity levels.” While this is appropriate to control of dimmable loads, the concept of “intensity level” loses relevance in the context of controlling motorized shades that are directed by a shade network to place a shade in a particular shade position.
Additional difficulties in connecting a shade network to a lighting control system are presented by differences in communication protocols appropriate or desired for the respective systems. In a lighting control system, for example, it may be desirable to provide for communication using a streaming protocol system, in which packets of information are periodically transmitted. In contrast, known shade control systems use an event-based communication protocol, in which information is transmitted in response to some event, such as a button press at a controller, for example. Shade systems are not typically expected to be complicated to install, unlike prior art lighting control systems that often include a central processor. Thus, an event-based protocol is better suited for a decentralized shade system because it allows for operation at a lower baud rate.